MILWAUKEE, WI (CelebrityAccess MediaWire) – According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the Marcus Corp. will provide $500,000 for maintenance, backstage renovation work and other improvements on the Marcus Amphitheater at the Summerfest grounds.
Under an agreement announced Thursday between the Marcus Corporation Foundation and Summerfest operator Milwaukee World Festival Inc., the Milwaukee-based hospitality company will provide the funds over a five-year period.
With its name on the lakefront concert venue, the Marcus family wants to ensure the theater remains in "pristine condition," said Stephen Marcus, president and CEO of the lodging and entertainment business. The Marcus Family Foundation was a principal contributor to the construction of the amphitheater, donating $1 million toward the venue, which opened in 1987 at a cost of roughly $12.3 million.
Don Smiley, president and CEO of Milwaukee World Festival Inc., said the Marcus Foundation gift and other contributions will pay for new dressing rooms, new interior and exterior paint, seat replacement and other improvements in the amphitheater. Work will begin next spring and continue over five years, he said.
In his report to the Summerfest board, Smiley outlined a move to boost the festival's finances through a change in the sponsorship of the North Shore Landing. The stage hosted an eclectic mix of music in its two years adjacent to the Marcus Amphitheater.
The venue will become the Potawatomi Classic Rock Stage, in an agreement that will bring more sponsorship money to the festival. North Shore Bank, which had been the primary sponsor of the stage, will continue as a Summerfest contributor.
Marcus Corp. has been the title sponsor of the Marcus Amphitheater ever since the venue opened on the Summerfest grounds in 1987. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
